Await snowing

According to the weather forecast on Yahoo.com, this early morning (2-11-2012), there will be snow showers in Boston, with a steadier snow developing late. Temperatures are nearly steady in the mid 30sF (from 2 to -2 degrees Celsius.) About one inch of snow is expected. Tonight, snow showers will come early with a chance of lingering snow showers later. The temperature will go low to 16F (minus 2 degrees Celsius.) The chance of snowing is 50%.

No snow is in the forecast for the Boston area for tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Now it is 6 a.m. It is cloudy with the temperature read at 36F (2 degrees Celsius.) Looking closely at the window in my kitchen, I see nothing because it is still quite dark. Looking at the weather forecast on my iPhone, I see snow flakes falling down with a little raining. But, my feeling doubts it is snowing today. If it is really snowing this morning, I think I need to go to the Hay Market as soon as possible to buy food for next week.

Like any Bostonian, I do enjoy the nearly snowless winter here. The mild weather since I got back to Boston from Vietnam late January has looked like in the fall. Though it has been colder but I have felt quite comfortable with this winter. I just needed to wear two layers of clothing when I went to school and did not need to wear my knee-long winter coat.

But, honestly speaking, I have been looking forward to seeing snow in Boston. Many people might say I am crazy and some might chase me if knowing I have awaited the snow. Many people said that a nearly snowless winter was so strange. A clinician in my school said last year, the winter in Boston filled with the snow which was ten times more than this year.

I had a great time with a snowy Thanksgiving holiday last year. Photo: Jacob Daniels

The Boston Globe of Feb 3, 2012 said last year was unusually snowy with 67.1 inches falling by this time. Meanwhile, by Feb 1, 2012, Boston had accumulated 7.8 inches of snow this winter while the average up to this point is about 24 inches. The record for the least snow in a season is 9 inches, set in the winter of 1936 and 1937, said National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Foley.

The Boston Globe said around New England, lack of snow is hampering sled dog races. The 83rd annual Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby, which claims the title of largest sled dog race, in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, has been postponed. A race in Hamilton, Massachusetts was postponed and then canceled. Another race in Tamworth, New Hampshire, was canceled as well.

Explaining the nearly snowless season in New England, a National Weather Service meteorologist said it is due to cold weather trapped in Alaska that the jet stream is not pulling down. The Boston Globe dated Feb 3, 2012 cited John Cannon said the pattern is likely to hold for the coming weeks. But as the weather forecast on Yahoo said today it is snowing.

Seeing me playing excitedly with the snow in New Hampshire on last Thanksgivings, a friend of mine said that I would get sick of the upcoming snow in Boston. I wanted to experience that sick feeling every Bostonian might have gone through almost every winter but this one. Before I came here, I learned that the snowy winter in Boston was the most severe in the United States because Boston is so close to the ocean.

The reason I have expected the snow here is not just because I come from a snowless country in South East Asia. Actually, I love to see snow because of its color which is also my most favorite, and because I had a feeling of purity in mind when I first saw snow in New Hampshire. Another reason is that I want to experience the lives of Bostonians, both ups and downs.

There are six weeks left in winter. It is said that winter has run its course and spring is on the way in New England. It is quite interesting to read a story on the Boston Globe saying that groundhogs are able to predict the departure of winter and arrival of spring. Ms. G is a groundhog working as an educational ambassador for the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln. On Feb 2, after being released from her cage in front of a crowd of about 100 people, Ms. G walked around and showed no fear of her shadow, which onlookers interpreted as the sign that winter has run its course.

Now it is 7 a.m. The morning is just dawning. Sitting next to the window again, I see no snow at all. But, looking at the weather forecast gadget on my desktop, I see snow falling overwhelmingly. Why is there such a big difference? Just wait and see if it is really snowing today.